Also by this author: Helen Roseveare: The Doctor Who Kept Going No Matter What
Series: Do Great Things for God #11
Published by Good Book Company on April 1, 2024
Genres: Children's, Children's Educational
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Inspiring children’s biography of Susannah Spurgeon, whose poor health did not stop her from serving.
Read the true story of Susannah Spurgeon, the wife of British pastor Charles Spurgeon.
Susannah was married to a very gifted and busy preacher, who could not have done all he did without her support. Susie experienced poor health for much of her life but she did not let that stop her from serving. One key way that she served the wider church was by creating the Book Fund, which gave free copies of Charles’ books to poor pastors who could not afford to buy them.
This beautifully illustrated children’s biography of Susannah Spurgeon (1832-1903) features stylish illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos. It is part of a series designed to show kids that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
This new installment in the Do Great Things for God series features Susannah Spurgeon, the wife of the famous pastor Charles Spurgeon. This picture book biography highlights her personal story, showing how she came to know the Lord through her future husband’s witness, supported him throughout his preaching career, and persevered through health challenges to continue serving God in whatever way she could. The simple text from Mary Mohler explains Susannah’s story in a way that children can understand, highlighting key lessons from her life and giving a quick sense of the time and place where the Spurgeons lived. The illustrations from Cecilia Messina also include historically accurate details.
At the end, the book includes a historic photograph of Susannah Spurgeon, and there is also a page of discussion questions, a timeline, and a map. The book also makes adults aware of the free activity sheets that they can download from the publisher’s website to use with children. However, even though the timeline and one of the activity pages mentions that Susannah wrote three devotional books, the biography itself doesn’t mention her work as a published author, just her letter-writing and charitable endeavors. I wish that the author had directly mentioned Susannah’s books in the biography, especially since not everyone will reference the material in the back.
Susannah Spurgeon: The Pastor’s Wife Who Didn’t Let Sickness Stop Her is a great educational resource for families, churches, and Christian schools. It shares historical information and an inspiring true story, and it gives a relatively thorough sense of this woman’s life while still being simple for young readers. This will appeal to kids who are old enough to read the book independently, and parents can also read it aloud to younger children. This is a great book to teach kids about a notable woman in church history, and it will be especially meaningful to families who also deal with health challenges.